


Overdue

by MaudeZbornak



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: #reylovalentines2021, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, Reylo Valentines Exchange, Reylo Valentines Exchange 2021 (Star Wars), Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fic Exchange, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:13:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaudeZbornak/pseuds/MaudeZbornak
Summary: For the 2021 Reylo Valentine's Day Exchange, I chose two prompts. This is the first. I am not certain who submitted this prompt, but if you did - I hope you enjoy it. Happy to tag you if you reveal.The only changes I made in the prompt: the jealousy part begins the day before and extends to V-Day. Also, V-Day is set on a Friday here by virtue of a specific plot point.The prompt: "Barista Rey and librarian Ben are in love (everybody knows that, but they still call each other just friends). She comes to get his order for the next drink beforehand, he brings her new books. On St. Valentine's Day they both suddenly feel jealous: he thinks she pays too much attention to one of her clients, "that macho asshole", while she finds that "that flirty b*tch" discusses Shakespeare with him for too long. The himbo and his sweetheart finally kiss when she comes to the library at night to bring him his books (smut is coming if you want :D)"Of course, there's smut. Happy Valentine's Day! #reylovalentines2021
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 57
Collections: Reylo Valentine’s 2021





	Overdue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [defiersofthestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/defiersofthestars/gifts).



> The following poems are featured in this piece. All are in the public domain.
> 
> Sonnet 18 by Williams Shakespeare  
> Sweetest love, I do not go by John Donne  
> The Senses Festival by John Cleveland

_**February 13** _

Ben Solo sat in the most comfortable chair in the employee lounge, skimming the latest Stephen King without a thought to the circulation desk. This was his time; he’d resolved in the New Year to utilize his break periods for relaxation and rejuvenation, and so far he was succeeding. This, despite constant interruptions, like the one now crowding the doorway.

His co-worker Rose leaned against the jamb, waving to get his attention. He did not look up.

“Ben, she’s here,” she said.

“Thank you, Rose. That narrows it down.”

“Your girlfriend is hovering by the new release display.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Ben turned a page.

“She may as well be. Your little barista is in here every day to check out books, among other things.” Rose huffed. “Does she even read half of them?”

“Perhaps she is a regular Evelyn Wood.”

“Who?”

Ben looked up at her, one eyebrow arched. Rose was speaking of Rey, who worked at the coffee shop across the street from the downtown library. Ben felt his heart lurch at the news; Rey normally stopped by before her noon-to-closing shift to exchange books and chat him up. When she didn’t show before he left for break, it disappointed him to think he might miss her.

He supposed he’d learn more about that soon, but for now… “You’re a librarian, Rose, look her up. I have exactly two minutes and fourteen seconds left on my break. I’ll return to my station then.”

“Ben, the girl is literally loaded down with books. She is going to topple over if you don’t get your ass out there.”

Ben held the novel up to shield his face from Rose’s view. He smiled. It wouldn’t do to suggest that Rey check out with one of the self-serve kiosks or let somebody else help her. Nonetheless, he kept a poker game voice. “Two minutes,” he said. “If I go back now, I want two minutes added to my next break.”

“You are such an ass. I don’t know what she sees in you.”

Ben’s shoulders shook with very quiet laughter. He wasn’t certain himself, but he thanked all things divine Rey saw something. Her visits made his days. Who wouldn’t want to help a patron interested in books, especially one so cute?

Rose left. Ben slapped the book shut, placed it in his cubbyhole, and clocked back in. He wasn’t big on King, but he read all popular authors in order to help people find something to read. Rey, in particular, devoured poetry, and it challenged him to find suitable titles for her since she seemed to tear through everything he recommended.

The downtown library was the largest branch in the city, and as such serviced a large population daily due to proximity to two colleges. Four librarians operated the circulation desk, and four self-serve kiosks were available to help keep lines manageable. Ben emerged from the back and took a moment to survey the activity. It looked like the DMV out there for all the people waiting.

He caught sight of Rey browsing the display shelf used for holiday themes. Naturally, with Valentine’s Day approaching, it was filled with recommended romance novels, the sonnets of Shakespeare, and non-fiction guides for spicing up relationships. Another librarian had taped large red paper hearts on the display.

Ben removed the _Register Closed_ placard from his post and called out, “I can help whoever’s --”

Rey’s head darted up at the sound of his voice and she was unloading her bounty in front of him before anybody could break free from the other lines.

\-- next,” he finished. Rey’s cheeks were pink and she looked out of breath. “Welcome back.”

“I finally got my break. It’s been crazy busy at the cafe today,” she said, sorting out her books so they didn’t spill. “Everybody’s been picking up their Valentine’s pastry orders.”

“It never occurred to me that a coffee shop would have a V-Day crush. Usually it’s florists and the drugstore.” Ben smiled as he swiped her library card and handed it back to her, then worked his way through her selections. “What did you think of the Anais Nin?”

“I loved it.” Rey’s voice radiated enthusiasm. “I swear, some of those poems gave me chills. Thanks for holding it for me.”

“Anytime.” Ben might have suggested Nin’s erotica were not a mother and her two youngsters standing in Rose’s line. He picked up _The Collected Poems of Dorothy Parker_ from Rey’s stack. “Interesting choice for you.”

Rey wrinkled her forehead. “You don’t like her?”

“I love Parker, but she’s a ways from the romantic themes you’ve asked for lately,” he said. “Parker’s poetry is more cynical, and speaks of heartbreak. Then again, her life was fairly sad for the most part.”

“Really?”

Ben nodded, and continued scanning her books.

Rey crooked her neck toward the Valentine’s Day shelves. “Did you recommend anything there?”

“Not yet. I planned to put out my selections today. I had to have them transferred from another branch and the truck doesn’t get here ‘til late afternoon.”

She leaned over the counter. Rose, having served three customers since Rey showed, shook her head but said nothing.

“If I leave my card here, would you check them out for me?” she asked, sliding her card back toward him. “Drop them off when you pick up your coffee?”

Ben gave her a sly look. “Or I could hold them for you to pick up tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Friday, Ben. It’s our busiest day without the holiday, and whatever you picked sounds like something I should read on Valentine’s, not after. Somebody might check it out first.” Rey’s fingers still pressed down on the card. Meanwhile, the queue behind her was growing, mostly women waiting their turn to flirt. “Please?”

“Okay, even though I really shouldn’t.” He pocketed her card. “Grande Irish cream latte --”

“Light whip, no dusting sugar, soda bread scone,” Rey finished reciting his usual order and scooped up her books. “See you tonight.”

“See you tonight,” mimicked Rose under her breath after she left. Ben fired a rubber band at her knee and called forward the next person in line.

***

When foot traffic at the cafe subsided, Rey took advantage of the lull. Crowds from the neighboring movie theater wouldn’t trickle in for another hour; same with the library. She selected the Dorothy Parker book from her stack and slipped it in the crevice underneath her register, reading pages at every opportunity. Any minute now Ben’s order would come officially through the online system, which allowed him to pay in advance. Once receiving it, she’d have it ready, along with some feedback on her latest checkout.

Twenty or so pages in, she saw Ben was right about Mrs. Parker’s output. She was a brilliant and witty poetess, but her words reflected a near lifetime of frustrations, disappointment and skepticism. She looked forward to what he would deliver when he arrived for his post-work coffee. Hopefully something to stir the soul.

With only a few customers at tables, she made a quick inventory of the syrup well and noticed they were low on Irish cream. It was a popular flavor here, and if at least two people ordered drinks now there might not be any left for Ben.

“Damn,” she muttered, and prayed Zorii had ordered more. She let Jannah, the other barista on duty, know she’d be in the back searching for a fresh bottle.

Standing in the open supply cage, she searched the cases and startled when Zorii appeared. “Look up top,” she said.

“Thanks.”

Zorii blocked her exit. “So you know, the entire crew has a pool going as to when and where you and your librarian man are gonna hook up,” she said.

“What? That’s ridiculous.” Not to mention a total fantasy, one often entertained by Rey. “Ben’s my friend. We share a common love of books, that’s all.”

“Every time he comes into the store I feel I have to move the whipped cream canisters so they don’t explode from the heat,” Zorii said. “Either that, or I dread one day having to explain to corporate why you were found straddling the counter, using one to spell your name on his bare chest and then licking off the cream.”

“And you ride me for reading all those romances,” Rey said. “You should write one.”

Zorii grinned, then said, “If you want to do me any favors, I picked V-Day after closing right here in the cage.”

Rey was affixing the pump to the new Irish cream bottle when Ben’s order appeared onscreen. Just as she grabbed a cup to prepare it, though, she was called to the register. Jannah emerged from the back and said, “I’ll get the mobile order.”

 _Noooo!_ Ben liked his coffee a certain way, and Jannah was too generous with the syrup shots. Rey cursed her poor luck, more so when she realized Armitage Hux was waiting to order. Hux, as he preferred to have people call him, worked odd hours at a nearby investment firm. Rey knew because Hux only mentioned it every time he came in. She also knew he never ordered the same thing twice, and often held up the line deciding.

No wonder Jannah was so eager to take Ben’s simpler, regular order.

“What’ll it be tonight, Hux?” she asked. _And please hurry the hell up._

Hux brushed imaginary lint from his suit jacket and gave her the leer of a confident man addressing an inferior. “Well, what would you recommend this evening? This being close to Valentine’s, you probably have some kind of themed drink you’re upselling.”

“We do, in fact. A chocolate-covered cherry mocha with chocolate shavings on the foam.”

He cringed. “My teeth enamel is dissolving just thinking about that. No,” he drummed his fingers on the counter top and gazed up at the menu, “something not so sweet. Can you still make the hazelnut latte? I don’t see it up there.”

“We can.”

“Tall, extra whip. Throw a _biscotti_ in a bag, too, please. I have a Zoom call with Japan in an hour.” He tapped his gold card on the chip reader. “So how’s business?”

Rey glanced at Jannah, happily pumping too much Irish cream into Ben’s cup. “Same as it always is, busy.”

She heard a throat clearing sound and turned to meet Zorii’s hard glare. Her manager’s look said _Be nice_. It wasn’t the first warning with regards to Hux, either. The man was a bore, but a steady customer who could be easily persuaded to spend his money elsewhere. Rey swallowed back her frustration and worked on his order while he rattled on about coffee futures and his Lexus. Every time he delivered an awful pun, she laughed so Zorii could see she was trying.

To the outside world, it probably appeared that she was genuinely interested in the man, and of course Ben had to walk through the door in the middle of it.

***

Ben followed a crowd into the cafe, all of whom lined up to order. He approached the mobile pickup counter and gave his name to the other girl, Jannah. She knew it, though. They all did here, but it was usually Rey who had his coffee ready. Not so tonight. Ben watched as she interacted with another regular. Ben didn’t know him by name -- he was a nodding acquaintance as they passed each other by the storefront -- but it looked as though he and Rey were rather close.

Dare he think it, she was flirting with the guy.

“That’s a good one. Never thought you investment bankers were so clever,” she told the man after he told a loud, lame joke, as she reached into the pastry case with a pair of tongs.

“Tall Irish cream latte, no whip, with a soda bread scone,” announced Jannah, setting his to-go cup and bag before him. She’d gotten the drink wrong, yet looked so proud of herself.

Ben had the book for Rey with her library card tucked inside it. The ginger-haired man with the loud voice continued to monopolize her, so he decided to give her a few minutes. “Thanks,” he said. “I think I’ll sit a bit.” He found a corner table and tested the coffee. It tasted like the girl had given him twelve ounces of hot Bailey’s mixed with stevia for the price of sixteen.

Jannah came around with a rag, wiping down neighboring tables. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Shakespeare, would you? You being a librarian and all.”

“I have a Lit degree in addition to my MLIS, so yeah.” He pushed aside the coffee, his appetite spoiled.

“I have to memorize a poem for this speech class I’m taking. The professor is a Shakespeare freak so I thought it might help my grade.” Jannah sat down at his table, clearly giving no thought to the line at Rey’s register. “What’s an easy sonnet I could do?”

Ben glared in the direction of the counter. Rey’s gaze flicked in his direction only briefly, and she looked annoyed. Why? He’d done her the favor of checking out her book, and came here to a messed-up coffee order because she couldn’t be bothered with it. All the while, she fawned over this macho asshole bragging about his high-paying job. A librarian living modestly couldn’t compete with such flash.

It made Ben realize Rey probably acted attentive to every man she knew, as though to hedge her bets. She’d done no special favors to him by way of her voracious reading appetite.

Finally he regarded Jannah with a smile. “There’s nothing easy about Shakespeare; he was quite complex. He was perhaps the greatest writer who ever lived, one whose ideas have been adapted thousands of times in every type of media imaginable. Every trope you see in the movies and TV is rooted in his original works,” he said. “And many of his sonnets are considered the most romantic poetry ever written. When do you have to recite this poem?”

“Tomorrow morning.” Jannah bit her lip.

“Bit eleventh hour for asking this, don’t you think?”

Jannah put her arms on the table and leaned forward, pushing out her breasts. “I have it narrowed down to a few,” she said. “I’m just curious to hear a professional opinion.”

“Well,” Ben twined his fingers, “this being close to V-Day, one obviously comes to mind.”

With that, he began to recite Sonnet 18 from memory.

***

If anything could get Hux to clam up, it would be the Bard, and every woman in the cafe shushing the ginger-haired man while Ben’s deep voice nearly made every ovary in the small space pop.

_“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?_  
_Thou art more lovely and more temperate:_  
_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_  
_And summer’s lease hath all too short a date…”_

Rey crossed her thighs tight behind the counter. She glanced at Zorii, who was using the tongs to retrieve a Danish from the pastry display. The woman had squeezed the handles too hard, and globs of thick cheese dripped onto the floor.

_“Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_  
_And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;_  
_And every fair from fair sometime declines,_  
_By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd…”_

What bothered Rey more was Jannah’s reaction as she sat at Ben’s table. The young woman’s knee bounced rapidly. One inch higher and she’d flip the table and interrupt this incredibly sexy recitation. The flirty bitch. It burned Rey to know that if Hux had arrived at the cafe a few minutes later than when he had, Ben might be reciting this to her, as he damn well should.

Ben’s gaze, thankfully, drifted from Jannah’s eye line and toward the ceiling, as though trying to recall the rest.

_“But thy eternal summer shall not fade,_  
_Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;_  
_Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,_  
_When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:_  
_So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,_  
_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”_

A moment of stunned silence followed, then applause. Ben, his face reddening, waved a hand and said, “Learn more at your local library.” It looked like he wanted to leave, but Jannah pinned him down with more questions.

Meanwhile customers kept queuing up in line, leaving Rey hostage at the register while Zorii filled orders. Hux, still hanging at the counter with his coffee and _biscotti_ , huffed out a laugh. “Showoff.”

Rey snapped her attention to him. _Pot to kettle, you are black._ “Have a good night, Hux,” she said, nodded to the next person in line.

Minutes later, Jannah returned behind the counter and set a book on top of the open Dorothy Parker. “Here. Ben left this for you,” she said.

“Left it?” She checked his table, but an older pair now occupied it. She’d become too busy with work that she missed his exit. “Why didn’t he stay?”

Jannah grabbed a cup for the next order. “Had to get home, I guess. Figured you were too busy with Hux.”

Hux. The fucker. She was tacking on extras to his next bill out of spite.

“Too bad, for me anyway,” Jannah added. “I had tonight in the pool.”

***

_**February 14** _

Somebody brought heart-shaped sugar cookies, covered in red and pink icing, for the break room. Ben, still out of sorts from last night’s coffee debacle, had skipped breakfast and now eyed one with longing. When he spotted the label for Rey’s cafe on the box, though, he changed his mind.

Instead, he settled on a ginger ale to calm his stomach, and read more of the King novel during his break. Horror seemed more _apropo_ to him on this day. It may as well have been Friday the 13th instead of Valentine’s Day, with the way patrons seemed to disregard library policies, to say nothing of cleanliness. On his scheduled travel path through the reading areas he found balled-up sandwich wrappers on tables and empty coffee cups shoved between books on shelves.

Everybody left books laying haphazard, too, with cracked spines and torn or bent pages. One of the veteran librarians at this branch liked to say the library would be the perfect place to spend a day if people didn’t touch the books. That time had come, apparently.

On top of that, Rey never showed to return or check out anything. He kept telling himself that perhaps the cafe was slammed with people buying last-minute cake pops for their sweethearts, and she consequently needed an extra day to get through her current stack. Deep down, though, he suspected her ginger-haired suitor had asked her to be his Valentine.

She probably told him yes, and would slip her returns through the after-hours box outside.

 _You still have your books, Ben_. Small comfort, though it hurt to think Rey might lose track of her current checkouts and never truly discover his most recent recommendation.

At closing he volunteered to cover the late restocking of the shelves. Nearly everybody on staff had a hot night planned and wanted to get home to prepare. Ben helped Rose and his fellow librarians finish serving the stragglers and he locked the doors after everybody left. He had the place to himself -- a bibliophile like him would normally consider this a great fantasy.

Tonight, he felt so damn lonely.

With a heavy sigh he rolled out the large book cart and filled it with all the stray books he could find in the adult reading area. The librarians in the juvenile section kept that part of the library neat, so he’d be spared sticky fingerprints on Dr. Seuss. Just as he was about to push the laden cart into the shelves, a heavy banging grabbed his attention.

Rey stood on the other side of the doors, pounding with her fist. Her breath fogged the glass where she stood, and the second he turned the lock she pushed past and stormed deep into the lobby. Ben watched her storm toward the cart, her work uniform of white blouse and floral skirt askew in places, like she’d jerked them on before clocking in.

“Your coffee got cold,” she snapped.

He locked them in and turned around. “I didn’t place an order tonight.”

Rey slammed the book he’d brought to her last night on the book cart. “You order the same damn thing every night. I had it ready for you this time, made properly,” she yelled. “You could have had the decency to alert me that you weren’t coming.”

“Yeah, well…” Ben folded his arms. “I would have mentioned it if you’d stopped in here like you do every day.”

Rey pierced him with red-rimmed eyes. She’d been crying. Why? Had her ginger Valentine let her down? Ben’s first instinct was to move closer to console her, but she was prickly.

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Ben. I told you we’d be swamped. I wasted a drink because of you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Rey shook her head. “Are you? Maybe you don’t feel the need to come to the cafe anymore when it comes here. Jannah ‘called in sick’ from her shift so I had to cover for her.” Rey air-quoted her co-worker’s alleged deception. “But I know she was sneaking off to hook up with somebody. Is she here?”

“What? No.” Ben had never seen the woman in the library, much less crack open a physical book. “You’re ridiculous. I didn’t order my coffee today because I’m working late, and you’re interrupting my job by the way, and when I finish the cafe will be closed.” He brushed past her to push the cart toward the shelves.

Rey followed him. “Don’t you walk away from me. I want to know what’s wrong with you all of a sudden. Why did you drop off a book without waiting to talk to me about it? You left my library card in it. What if it slipped out and got lost?”

“You were busy, and we can replace cards.” They passed the 300 Dewey Decimals -- social sciences.

Rey huffed to catch up with his long strides. “That never dissuaded you before.”

The 600s -- technology. “Maybe I didn’t want to interrupt the good time you were having with Mr. Three Piece McSuit,” Ben called over his shoulder.

“Who, Hux? You thought I… with him…?” Rey let out a squeal of a laugh and followed him into the 800s -- literature and poetry. “He’s just a customer, and a pain in the ass,” she said. “Zorii was badgering me to be nice to him.” Rey then turned dark. “All the while you were leading Jannah on with your sexy Shakespeare impersonation, like you’re Patrick Fucking Stewart.”

Ben halted the cart and turned it sideways to better reach the books. He leaned against it and regarded Rey, feeling exhausted. “She was asking about reciting a poem for a speech class, and...what, sexy Shakespeare?”

“Jannah can’t spell Shakespeare, much less deliver a single line he ever wrote. Meanwhile I’m in here every day and you’ve never shared anything like that with me.”

Ben grabbed the poetry book from the cart. “I share with you all the time! How many books have I recommended to you since you started coming in?” he demanded. “I checked out this book for you, a book I requested specifically for the Valentine’s display, even though it’s against policy for me to have used your card. I’m lucky I didn’t get reprimanded. Did you bother to at least open it?”

“Yes.”

“You’re lying.” He saw it on her face the second she slipped out the word. Assuming this Hux was nothing more than an annoying regular, he guessed she’d gone home last night and pouted herself to sleep. He handed her the book. “Open it to page 394. That’s how I’ll know.”

He watched her split the book open and thumb to the assigned page, and he watched her face soften on seeing the red paper heart he’d put there yesterday afternoon.

***

He’d given her a valentine. Rey’s heart lurched.

In black ink, scrawled over the raised matte paper in a beautiful calligraphic font, was written: _I think of you when I read this one._

She stood there numb, touching the note with trembling fingertips. The heart obscured most of the poem, but she could see -- in this collection of 16th and 17th century romantic poetry -- that the work was by John Donne.

“Would you like to read the poem now?” Ben asked.

Rey’s eyes misted over with unshed tears. The words in her line of vision blurred.

Ben held out his hand. “Would you like me to read it to you?”

She nodded and gave him the book. He palmed it open in one hand, and with the other took Rey’s hand and drew her closer. Ben maneuvered her so that she stood resting her back against his chest. His arms encircled her and he held up the book for her to see the words he read softly in her ear:

_Sweetest love, I do not go,_  
_For weariness of thee,_  
_Nor in hope the world can show_  
_A fitter love for me;_  
_But since that I_  
_Must die at last, 'tis best_  
_To use myself in jest_  
_Thus by feign'd deaths to die._

_Yesternight the sun went hence,_  
_And yet is here today;_  
_He hath no desire nor sense,_  
_Nor half so short a way:_  
_Then fear not me,_  
_But believe that I shall make_  
_Speedier journeys, since I take_  
_More wings and spurs than he._

With every word, Rey’s flesh erupted and she shivered. Ben seemed to sense her reaction, as he closed his free arm around her middle and continued:

_O how feeble is man's power,_  
_That if good fortune fall,_  
_Cannot add another hour,_  
_Nor a lost hour recall!_  
_But come bad chance,_  
_And we join to'it our strength,_  
_And we teach it art and length,_  
_Itself o'er us to'advance._

_When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,_  
_But sigh'st my soul away;_  
_When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,_  
_My life's blood doth decay._  
_It cannot be_  
_That thou lov'st me, as thou say'st,_  
_If in thine my life thou waste,_  
_That art the best of me._

_Let not thy divining heart_  
_Forethink me any ill;_  
_Destiny may take thy part,_  
_And may thy fears fulfil;_  
_But think that we_  
_Are but turn'd aside to sleep;_  
_They who one another keep_  
_Alive, ne'er parted be._

He set the paper heart on that page and closed the book, his head still dipped low near her ear. Close enough to kiss. His warm breath caressed the outer shell of her ear and the underside of her lobe. When she turned to face him, she parted her lips slightly in hopes he might recognize the cue, the sign of her want.

It worked. Her lips came together with his in a gentle kiss. She captured his lower lip and worried it a bit between her teeth. Ben slid his tongue forward and coaxed her mouth open wider, and she turned in his embrace and put her hands behind his head to deepen and prolong the kiss.

An overhead light flickered and buzzed -- typical for this section of the library given its age -- and Rey imagined the electricity they produced encouraged the building to respond. She heard movement on the shelf to her left; Ben was putting the book down to better hold her. His hands crossed at the small of her back explored her body. One slid up her back to caress her shoulder blade, the other massaged her bottom and clutched at her skirt. All the while he pressed her closer, enough for her to feel the growing bulge in his jeans.

When they tapered off -- it may have been a minute, an hour -- Rey pressed her forehead to his and looked directly into his eyes. “That was a beautiful poem. Thank you for reading it,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you really think of me when you read it?” The thought made her heart beat faster. “Because it’s rather sad.”

“How so?”

“He’s telling her that he’s leaving,” she said.

Ben swiped his nose upward and kissed her forehead. “He also says he’s coming back. I suppose that’s why this piece reminds me of you. It seems we are forever parting and reuniting,” he said. “Either here or where you work.”

“You think it’s possible we could break that cycle? At least shorten the gaps we’re apart?”

He smiled down at her, loosening his hold. “I think so.”

“Read me another.”

“I have a better idea.” He turned to the cart and emptied it, stacking the books in a gap on the 800 shelf. He then lifted Rey like she weighed nothing and sat her on top. Her floral print rayon skirt slid up to expose her inner thighs but she didn’t move to cover them.

Ben opened the poetry book to a page well past 394. “Here,” he said, handing it to her and pointing to the poem in question. “This is by John Cleveland. Rather famous in his day, but he didn’t quite enjoy the legacy of Donne or Shakespeare in death. This one’s more of a mouthful now, but back then it made the maidens wet.”

Rey felt her skin flush at that. Ben nudged her on to read. It took a moment to adjust to the older English, and she took it on slowly:

_I Saw a Vision yesternight_  
_Enough to sate a Seeker's sight;_  
_I wish'd my self a Shaker there,_  
_And her quick Pants my trembling Sphere._

She paused and looked down at her legs. Ben had crouched down, eye level with her thighs, and was slipping his hands under her skirt, up her hips.

_It was a She so glittering bright,_  
_You'd think her Soul an Adamite;_  
_A Person of so rare a frame,_  
_Her Body might be lin'd with th'same._

Ben grasped at the waistband of her thong, tugging down. She shifted in her seat to allow him to pull it down her ass and off her legs. She let her low-heeled shoes fall to the floor.

_Beauty's chiefest Maid of Honour,_  
_You may break Lent with looking on her._  
_Not the fair Abbess of the Skies,_  
_With all her Nunnery of eyes,_  
_Can shew me such a Glorious Prize._

Ben straightened to his full height, then pushed her skirt back as far as possible. Rey widened her legs and scooted forward to better expose her pussy to him. She glanced his way long enough to see him studying her face while he reached forward to stroke his thumb over her clit in a circular motion.

Her voice trembled, but she continued:

_And yet because 'tis more Renown_  
_To make a shadow shine, she's brown;_  
_A Brown for which Heaven would disband_  
_The Galaxie, and Stars be tann'd;_  
_Brown by Reflection, as her Eye_  
_Deals out the Summer's Livery._

He stroked two fingers into her cunt, leaning over to kiss her neck. Rey had to twist to keep reading and lost her place. _Fuck it_ , she thought, and skipped ahead.

_Yet that's but a preludious Bliss,_  
_Two Souls Pickeering in a Kiss..._

Ben added a third finger, fucking her harder with his hand.

_Embraces do but draw the Line,_  
_'Tis storming that must take her in._  
_When Bodies joyn…_

The rest of the line died in her throat. Ben held still inside her for a moment, then pushed in deep and curled his fingers in a come-hither motion, looking for her spot.

_When Bodies joyn…_

She wet his hand, and probably the cart.

_When Bodies joyn…and Vic-tor-y hov...hov..._

The words shook on the page.

He found the spot and rubbed. She clamped down in response, her orgasm rising to strangle her.

“HOVERS!!!” she cried, and kicked her legs out around him, causing the books on the lower shelf of the cart to topple to the ground. Rey slammed down the book and clawed at Ben’s free arm, the one now supporting her back to keep her from falling.

“Ben, for the love of G-d, please fuck me!”

They were both breathing hard now. Ben jerked his hand from her and reached for his wallet, splaying it down on a shelf and nimbly plucking from it what Rey assumed was the emergency condom. As he undid his fly and belt to shed his jeans she slid off the cart and turned, clutching her skirt to her waist and thrusting her bare ass out for him to take.

Rey bent over the cart and grasped the edge for dear life. She closed her eyes to center on Ben behind her. She heard the rasp of the foil torn open, then the crinkle of latex being rolled over his hard prick.

Then the touch of his hand on her ass, sliding down to find her wet cunt again. His forefingers scissoring wide within her, as though to prep her. The tip of his cock tracing the edges, teasing her to the point of begging.

Slowly, Ben pushed inside her, stretching. She tried to relax, and hung her head. It seemed like her entire body had to go limp in order to take all of him. Once she felt his pelvis against her skin she knew he was in all the way, and she kegeled tight as a signal for him to go as rough as he pleased.

He paused a moment, however; his deep sighs filled the space between them. Rey lifted her head to look back, and in her peripheral vision noticed Ben appeared in a trance. His head was tilted back slightly, eye closed, expression radiating pure bliss.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” he said. “Thou art more lovely and more temperate…” He opened his eyes and their gazes met. “I can’t remember the rest.”

“It’s okay.” The words came out heavy. Rey pushed back against him and Ben responded in kind. He fucked her slowly at first, caressing her bottom with one hand while slipping the other underneath her blouse. Rey faced forward again and let each sensation carry her closer to the edge. She felt his fingers undo her bra hook, and then that hand moved down to grab a freed breast.

Ben sped up, and leaned forward over her to grab the cart as well. The force of their fucking caused it to rock in place. Too much would send them crashing to the floor. Rey bore down with all her weight, rearing her head back and wailing, urging Ben to go harder. Her cries masked the slap of his skin on hers, the banging of the cart’s wheels against the foot of the tall shelf to their left. Rey glanced in that direction and watched the books vibrate.

Let them. Let the whole fucking Literature and Poetry section collapse on them. Let her die like this, getting the only thing she wanted on Valentine’s Day. Let her die with a smile on her face and Shakespeare in Ben’s sexy, deep voice echoing in her mind.

She heard Ben’s breath hitch, then out came a loud grunt. He was coming, and in a series of short, low huffs he pushed all the way inside her. “Oh, G-d!”

His cock pulsed inside her, and after a moment he slipped free and grasped her by the waist. He pulled her down to sit in the aisle. The carpet was rough on her bare bottom, but it was a minor inconvenience.

Rey rested on Ben’s chest and put her head in the crook of his neck. He brought his arm around her and held her close. She looked down at his jeans, pushed down around his ankles, and his softening cock resting on one thigh, his cum pooled in the condom’s tip.

They sat there silently but for their breathing; she lost track of time. She tried to remember if she had to be back at work. Like she gave a damn.

Ben nuzzled her temple. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said. “Soon as I’m able to stand up, would you like to come home with me?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ben.” She lifted her face for a kiss. “I would, very much. When we get there, would you read me another?”

**Author's Note:**

> Evelyn Wood popularized speed reading.


End file.
